8/13/2019 Is Michael Jordan the Player Michael Jordan Thinks He Is

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thenorthernlight.org

http://www.thenorthernlight.org/2013/10/11/is-michael-jordan-the-player-michael-jo rdan-thinks-he-

Thomas McIntyre

Is Michael Jordan the player Michael Jordan thinks he is?

I dont think I would los e other t han to Kobe Bryant, because he steals all my moves, Michael Jordan said

Thats how Air responded when asked howd he f air in one-on- one games against Jerry West (seriously?),

Elgin Baylor, Julius Erving, Dwyane Wade, Carmelo Anthony, Kobe Bryant and LeBron James.

No one does arrogant better than Mike. But hes right. Right?

I think so . But I f igured Id show my work. To conf irm Jordans place as the head- to -head king, Ive run a

hypothet ical one-on- one tournament involving all eight players.

Yes, its a slow news week except f or the MLB Playof f s. I meant its s low for the popular sports.

Round 1

Michael Jordan (1) def. Je rry West (8)

Michael Kidd-Gilchrist f oo lishly admitted to losing a game of one-on- one to a 49-year-old Jordan last year.

With all due respect, Im not sure a prime West could step to Kidd-Gilchrist t oday and get a win.

Advantage go es to Jordan, who will beat up West worse than he did Steve Kerr look it up.

Kobe Bryant (2) def . Elgin Baylor (7)

Laker-on-Laker crime is the best. I could be discrediting the legend here, but Baylor did his damage during the

1960s. Hes a more complete and less athletic Nick Young in 2013.

Baylor scores more o n Kobe than Bow Wow did. He will score a po int, to be exact.

LeBron James (3) def. Carmelo Anthony (6)

You can smooth talk me into Anthony here until I so lve the equation Melo is st ill wracking his brain over: good

of f ense + good x = great basketball player.

Hair? Arm sleeves? Tattoos? Hats? said a f lustered Anthony.

Defense. X is defense. James punishes him.

Julius Erving (4) def. Dwyane Wade (5)

If anyone is t hat dude, Erving is t hat dude. The matchup is interest ing, though. Wade has always been more of

an opportunist ic team defensive player than a lockdown man defender. Hes go t t oo much size and hypnot ic

skill to overcome against Doc.

Round 2

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8/13/2019 Is Michael Jordan the Player Michael Jordan Thinks He Is

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Jordan (1) def . Erving (4)

Erving rattled of f an unusual all-t ime starting lineup while on t he soon- to -be cancelled Fox Sports Live earlie

this month. He chose to exclude Jordan f rom the f ive-man rotat ion.

If we know anything about Jordan, we can assume hes watched the clip several thousand t imes while taking

violent cigar rips. As his so ciopathic Hall of Fame speech suggests, MJ will probably treat this as a blood f eud

going forward.

Scratching Sir Michaels arm was enough to send him into a f it o f rage during his playing days. Erving might as

well have killed Jordans entire f amily. Mike moves o n.

James (3) def. Bryant (2)

Not an outcome I would have pegged a couple years ago. James best is now better t han Kobes best . Hes

evolved into the player we all hoped hed be ever since he risked his amateur status by accepting a demure,

f ully loaded 2003 Hummer H2 in high school.

James will give Bryant hell on def ense. Bryant will try all his t ricks, hissing and talking trash in Italian.

In the end, James dribble drives and post play give him the edge most nights. This is o ne of those nights .

Final

Jordan (1) def . James (3)

A matchup so big MTV would resurrect The Shop f or a one-of f episode dedicated to the Jo rdan vs . James

debate. Thats the best way I can frame it to establish the signif icance.

We made it through Chris Brown vs. Honorable Human Beings and Kimmel vs. Kanye with no Shop revival,

so this is unchartered territory.

Jordan will hug his children, kiss his wif e, and take a few more s trides in his f avorite pair of oversized jeans.

Then he will go to war. After kicking out o f multiple f inishers and taking a dozen unprotected chair shots to th

head, he will win.

Moments later, he will evaporate. Jordans legacy is complete.

And as one las t ef f you to Erving, hell leave Doc his majority ownership share of the Charlo tte Bobcats.